USDA Cites Harvard Center for Violating Federal Law

Please contact Elizabeth Goldentyer to demand that Harvard Medical
School receive the largest fine possible under the Animal Welfare Act
for the negligence which killed a monkey during a medical procedure.

This is the fifth time in just over one and a half years that
negligence at the New England Primate Research Center has killed a
primate.

So far the USDA has issued only an Official Warning against Harvard's
Medical School. Clearly USDA inaction has contributed to the continuing
deaths at this facility.

Please insist that the USDA issue a fine, and let Dr. Goldentyer know
that you hold her personally responsible for the USDA's inaction, and
the deaths of these animals. She MUST take action now!

The United States Department of Agriculture has recently cited
Harvard Medical School’s New England Primate Research Center for
violations of the Animal Welfare Act, following the death of a
cotton-top tamarin monkey in February.

The new report documents the findings of a March 7 USDA investigation
into the monkey death; this latest citation is the seventh against the
NEPRC since June 2010. Harvard self-reported the incident to the USDA at
the time of the death, prompting the inspection.

On February 26, a cotton-top tamarin monkey died due to
dehydration—the fifth primate to die in the past 19 months at the NEPRC.

Paula S. Gladue, a veterinary medical officer inspector, cited the
center for failing to provide the monkey with a water bottle in its
cage. The report states that on the day of the animal’s death, facility
personnel noted “unusual behavior” and contacted a clinical veterinarian
to examine the monkey, who diagnosed the animal with dehydration. The
monkey was then euthanized.

The death led Jeffrey S. Flier, dean of the Medical School, to halt
indefinitely new experiments at the center. At the time, Flier said in a
statement that the animal deaths were “absolutely unacceptable, deeply
regrettable, and personally disturbing to me.” Flier also said he plans
to implement a three-step plan to correct the failing protocol.

USDA spokesperson David Sacks wrote in an email to The Crimson that
the USDA is conducting an investigation to determine actions that will
be taken against the Medical School. A USDA citation can result in a
warning letter to the offending institution or a fine of up to $10,000.

This citation comes at a time when the NEPRC—which has been at the
forefront of biomedical primate research since its founding in 1962—is
under fire from animal rights groups due to primate deaths.

“We believe that the USDA has been going soft on Harvard in
particular,” Michael A. Budkie wrote in an email. Budkie—executive
director of Stop Animal Exploitation Now, an organization that focuses
on preventing abuse of laboratory animals—helped organize a protest
against the Medical School’s use of animals in January of this year.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to the
National Institute of Health demanding that the government agency cease
funding research at the NEPRC following the February death and the death
of a squirrel monkey in December.

The NEPRC received five citations from the USDA in July 2011,
including one for the overdose of a primate with anesthetics. The
animal, experiencing kidney failure, could not be saved and was
euthanized.

In October of last year, the NEPRC was cited by the USDA for multiple
violations of the Animal Welfare Act—namely the Oct. 2011 death of a
primate that died soon after escaping from its cage. The primate was
then captured with a net by NEPRC staff, and died after undergoing an
imaging procedure.

And in June 2010, a primate was found dead in a cage after it went
through a mechanical washer. NEPRC and USDA say it died before the
washing.

—Staff writer Nathalie R. Miraval can be reached at
nmiraval@college.harvard.edu.